Teresa the Traveler
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  • Central America
    • Nicaragua >
      • Corn Islands in Nicaragua
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      • Volcanic Mud Bath in Costa Rica
      • Costa Rica Eco-Adventure
  • North America
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        • Vegas Pool Party
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        • Shark Cage Diving
        • Submarine Ride
        • Dole Plantation
      • Hawaiian Island of Maui >
        • Haleakalā Crater
        • Piiholo Ranch Ziplining
        • Turtle Town
      • Johnson Space Center
      • Disneyland
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      • Cabo San Lucus
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    • Argentina >
      • Repel down a Waterfall
      • Boat Ride to Iguazu Falls
      • Evita Museum
      • Learn to Tango
      • Salinas Grandes Salt Flats
    • Bolivia >
      • Eduardo Avaroa National Park
      • Salar de Uyuni
      • La Paz Witch Market
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      • Zipaquira Salt Cathedral
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      • Mount Monserrate
    • Peru >
      • Climb Machu Picchu
      • Fly Over the Nasca Lines
      • Sand Dune Boarding in Huacachina
      • Mountain Biking down Chachani Volcano
      • Visit the Catacombs in Lima
      • Moray
      • Inca Salt Pans
  • Europe
    • England >
      • Big Ben and the Parliament
      • Buckingham Palace
      • Hyde Park
      • St. Margaret’s Cathedral
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      • Eiffel Tower
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      • Palace of the Popes
      • Les Pont St-Benezet
      • Les Grottes de Thouzon
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      • Monaco
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      • Fort Royal State Prison
    • Germany >
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    • Poland >
      • Wieliczka Salt Mine (The Old Salt Mine)
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      • Kazimierz: Cracow's Jewish Quarter
      • Wawel Hill
      • Schindler's Cracow Factory
      • Auschwitz and Birkenau
    • Romania >
      • Bran's Castle
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      • Poenari - The Real Dracula's Castle
      • House of the People
      • Peleş Castle
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      • Party all Night in Ibiza
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  • Middle East
    • Egypt >
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      • Hapshepsut Temple
      • Karnak Temple
    • Israel >
      • Oskar Schindler's Grave
      • Jaffa
      • 14 Stations of the Cross
      • The Church of the Holy Sepulchre
      • Western Wall
      • Manger Square
      • Dead Sea Scrolls
    • Jordan >
      • Dead Sea
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      • Wadi Rum
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    • Lebanon >
      • Star Square
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      • Citadel of Aleppo
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      • Grand Mosque of Damascus
      • Damascus Old City
      • Latakia
    • Turkey >
      • Shop at the Grand Baazar
      • Spice Market
      • Harem at Topkapi Palace
      • Blue Mosque
      • Ephesus
      • House of the Virgin Mary
      • Pamukkale
      • Love Valley
      • Derinkuyu Underground City
      • Selime Monastery
      • Ihlara Valley
      • Goreme Open Air Museum
      • Cappadocia Balloon Ride
      • Take a Turkish Bath
    • UAE >
      • Burj Dubai
      • Wild Wadi Water Park
      • Indoor Ski Hill
      • Al Arab Seven Star Hotel
      • Palm Islands
  • Caribbean
    • Dominican Republic >
      • Hoya Azul
      • Dune Buggy Tour
  • AFRICA
    • Tanzania >
      • Go on an African Safari
      • Explore Zanzibar
    • Kenya >
      • Visit an Elephant Orphanage
      • Kiss a Giraffe
      • Visit Nairobi National Park
    • Zimbabwe >
      • Walk with Lions
      • Explore Victoria Falls
  • Contact

Israel

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Wikipedia - Israel is a parliamentary republic in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea. It borders Lebanon in the north, Syria in the northeast, Jordan and the West Bank in the east, Egypt and the Gaza Strip on the southwest, and the Gulf of Aqaba in the Red Sea to the south, and it contains geographically diverse features within its relatively small area. Israel is defined as a Jewish and Democratic State in its Basic Laws and is the world's only Jewish-majority state.

CLICK ON THE PICTURES BELOW TO DISCOVER SOME OF THE  BEST THINGS TO SEE AND DO IN ISRAEL
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Place a Stone on Oskar Schindler's Grave
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Make a Wish at the Wishing Bridge in Jaffa
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Follow the 14 Stations of the Cross
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Kneel at the Place Where Jesus Died on the Cross
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Wail at the Western Wall
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View the Dead Sea Scrolls
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Make Your Way to the Manger


Israel Timeline From 2000 BC to 2009

2000BC - According to the Hebrew bible called the Torah, the Land of Israel was promised to the Jewish people as their homeland by God.
1947 - The United Nations voted to partition Palestine into two states, one Jewish and one Arab, this led to civil war in Palestine.
1948 - Israeli Declaration of Independence. Since its foundation, Israel’s Arab neighbors have disputed her boundaries and right to exist leading to a series of
           wars and conflicts that continue to this day.
1948 - Shortly after they declared independence Israel was invaded by their Arab neighbors launching the 1948 Arab-Israeli War.  An estimated 711,000 Arabs 
           fled the country and the fate of these refuges is still a point of contention between the Palestinians and Jews today.
1952 – Israel signs an agreement with West Germany in which they would receive reparations in the sum of 3 billion marks over 14 years to compensate the Jews
            for their stolen property and loss of lives at the hands of the Nazis.  The intent of the agreement was to help support the 500,000 Holocaust survivors that
            immigrated to Israel many of whom were living in tent villages. 
 1967 – Israel engages in the Six Day War with Egypt, Syria and Jordan achieving a quick victory in which they captured the West Bank, Gaza Strip, Sinai 
            Peninsula and Golan Heights.  The Palestinian Liberation Organization was formed in response to the Arab defeat.
1972 – Israeli athletes were kidnapped and later massacred at the Summer Olympic Games in Munich, West Germany by an organization called Black
            September.  Israel responded with Operation Spring of Youth and Operation Wrath of God, a series of airstrikes and assassinations aimed at those
            responsible for the massacre.
1973 – Egypt and Syria launch a surprise attack on Israel in the Yom Kippur war and once again lose to Israel but not without inflicting great loss to the Israelis.
1979 – Israel signs a peace treaty with Egypt
1987 – A violent Palestinian uprising called the First Intifada broke out in Israeli occupied territories causing over 1000 deaths over a period of six years.
1993 – The Oslo Accords are signed giving the Palestinian National Authority the right to self-govern parts of the West Bank and Gaza Strip. 
1994 – The Israel-Jordan Peace Treaty is signed
1995 – Wye River Memorandum is signed giving the Palestinian National Authority even more power.
2000 – Bill Clinton invites Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak to the Camp David Summit to broker a plan for the
            establishment of a Palestinian State.  Arafat rejects plan and a Second Intifada starts.
2006 – Hezbollah radicals kidnap two Israeli soldiers sparking a war with Lebanon. 
2009 – Israel attacks the Gaza Strip with air strikes then later a ground invasion after a ceasefire between them and the Hamas break down.  Four days after initial strike, Teresa the Traveler returns home to Canada.


The Palestinian Question

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict dates back to the early Zionist pioneers and the Arabs living in Palestine under Ottoman rule.  The Zionist movement grew in response to anti-Semitism in Russia and Europe.  Their goal was to form a Jewish Nation in Palestine and the World Zionist Organization and the Jewish
National Fund encouraged immigration and funded the purchase of land in Palestine.  Massive numbers of Jewish immigrants started to flood into Palestine leaving the Palestinian Arab population feeling threatened.  As anti-Semitism grew in Europe after the rise of the Nazi party, so did the number
of Jewish immigrants to Palestine.  Tensions between Arabs and Jews in the region also grew.  In 1947, the United Nations approved the partition of Palestine
into two states, one Jewish and one Arab.  This sparked a wave of violence that ended with Israel declaring its independence and the beginning of numerous Arab-Israeli wars. There have been many attempts since to separate the country into two states but while many people from both sides favour this solution, an agreement has never been reached.

Teresa the Traveler's Israel Travel Tips

1.  Due to the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian dispute, Afghanistan, Algeria, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan,Syria, and Yemen block passports containing stamps or visas from Israel. You may also have difficulties getting into and/or be refused visas to other Islamic countries, such as Bangladesh, Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Pakistan, etc. If you intend to visit any of these nations, ask immigration to stamp ablank page, rather than your passport, when entering. Note that those countrieswill also search for Jordanian/Egyptian exit stamps from land borders with Israel and will likewise prohibit your entry if they find one.  Please keep this piece of paper safe and secure. In particular, you should not hand it to the border police employee standing right after the passport control. (He or she might absentmindedly think it a confirmation slip and tear it up.) If this paper is lost or damaged, you will have no verification about having entered Israel legally, which will cause you difficulties when leaving.

2. Don't plan to travel during the Shabbat because most buses aren't running and many stores and restaurants are closed until the Shabbat is over. 

3. The voltage in Israel is 220 V, and the frequency is 50 Hz. The electric outlets used are type H and Type C. Type H is a uniquely Israeli three-pronged standard, but most modern type H outlets can also accept type C European two-pronged plugs. In fact, most electronic devices in Israel use type C plugs.


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Israel Facts

1.            The Mossad is Israel`s equivalent to the CIA. They are responsible for intelligence collection and covert
                operations including assassinations and other paramilitary activities. They belong to the Israeli Intelligence
                Community, along with Aman (military intelligence) and Shin Bet (internal security), but its director reports
                directly to the Prime Minister
2.            Many visitors to Israel go there to live in a Kibbutz which is a collective community traditionally based on
               agriculture. Guests often stay free of charge in exchange for working the fields.
3.            McDonald’s restaurants in Israel are “kosher” meaning they only serve food that is prepared in accordance
               to Jewish dietary laws, for example, only meat from particular species is permissible and wild animals must
               be trapped and ritually slaughtered to be considered kosher. 
4.            Purim is like “Jewish Halloween” where people dress up in costumes to commemorate the deliverance of
               the Jewish people of the ancient Persian Empire from Haman’s plot to annihilate them.  They also send
               food gifts to friends give to the poor and eat a festive meal to celebrate.
5.            Every four years Israel host the Maccabiah Games, which is an international event similar to the Olympic
               Games but for Jewish and Arab-Israeli athletes.
6.            Israeli law states that Lebanon, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Yemen are enemy countries and Israeli
               citizens are prohibited from visiting those countries without permission from the Ministry of the Interior. 
7.            Having been involved in several major wars and border conflicts in its short history, the Israel Defence
               Forces is one of the most battle-trained armed forces in the world.
8.            Israel is a global leader in water conservation and geothermal energy.
9.            Israel’s Law of return, enacted in 1950, grants all Jews, people with Jewish lineage and their spouses the
               right to Israeli citizenship.
10.          Israel is the only country in the region ranked "Free" by Freedom House (a non-government organization
               based out of Washington DC) based on the level of civil liberties and political rights; however, the "Israeli
               OccupiedTerritories/Palestinian Authority" was ranked "Not Free."

For tips on visiting the Middle East CLICK HERE
For general travel tips on what to pack and how to plan ahead CLICK HERE
For tips on travelling on a budget CLICK HERE

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